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Most dominant Premier League champions in history ranked as Liverpool close in on early title

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Liverpool could be just 90 minutes away from being crowned as Premier League champions.

Few would have expected Arne Slot's side to be the runaway leaders in their first season after Jurgen Klopp's emotional departure, but the Dutch boss has turned the Reds rampant.

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Arne Slot's first season in charge could not have gone much betterCredit: Getty

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The Reds are closing in on the Premier League title in style

Liverpool travel to face Leicester City on Sunday afternoon and will secure the title if they win and Arsenal lose to Ipswich.

It means that the Merseysiders would claim the title with five matches to spare - one of the most dominant showings in Premier League history.

Here talkSPORT.com ranks the most dominant Premier League champions in the competition's history.

The Premier League is the most competitive in the world for a reason and that's because 17 of its 32 winners have done so with one or less matches remaining.

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On six occasions, a team has won the title with two matches remaining - including Arsenal's double-winning side of 1997/98 and Leicester's historic title win in 2015/16.

Of the six, Man United have won the league by two points on three occasions, doing it for the first time in the 1993/94 campaign as a sign of the dominance that was to come.

After challenging in Roman Abramovich's first season as owner, Jose Mourinho's arrival in the summer of 2004 changed the Premier League forever.

With the Special One's ruthless winning mentality and new signings including Petr Cech, Didier Drogba and Arjen Robben, the Blues suddenly looked like the finished article.

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A total of 29 wins and 95 points on the board saw Chelsea romp to title glory and left their rivals fearing what the Abramovich/Mourinho era could have in store.

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Mourinho's title winning side of 2004/05 set the tone for the following yearsCredit: Getty

In Mourinho's second season of his second spell, the Portuguese boss had Chelsea cooking on gas.

Despite losing Frank Lampard, a side featuring Eden Hazard and new signings Diego Costa and Cesc Fabregas ensured that the Blues had the quality and fight to beat Arsenal and Man City to the title.

A tally of 87 points meant that the won the title by eight points.

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Jose Mourinho's second spell in charge brought dominance through new signings Diego Costa and Cesc FabregasCredit: Getty

In a season that saw Man City reach the Champions League, Pep Guardiola's revolution was in full flow by this point.

Raheem Sterling, Phil Foden, Riyad Mahrez, Gabriel Jesus and Ilkay Gundogan were the big-hitting goalscorers of the season with Man City winning the title by 12 clear points.

It would be the first of four titles in a row and the third of six crowns in seven dominant years.

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The Pep Guardiola dynasty was in full flow by 2020/21Credit: Getty

Fresh from their treble-winning success in 1999, Man United could have been forgiven for lacking motivation the next year.

Sadly for their rivals, that wasn't the case at all as Sir Alex Ferguson's side stormed to win the title by a massive 18 points.

Scoring 97 goals in the process, this was the second of three titles in a row in a campaign that saw Andy Cole and Dwight Yorke net 46 goals between them.

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Fergie's Man United followed up their treble-winning success in styleCredit: Getty

Did someone say Invincibles?

The 2003/04 campaign was one that will go down in Premier League history with Arsenal winning 26 games and drawing 12 on the way to an unbeaten campaign.

Despite a strong showing from Chelsea, Arsene Wenger's side bagged 90 points and won the title by 12 points with Thierry Henry bagging 30 in the Premier League alone.

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Arsenal's 2003/04 side have been dubbed the 'invincibles' and are one of the Premier League's greats

In a campaign that proved to be the last of Sir Alex Ferguson's 26 and a half-year reign, Man United meant business.

Having seen their rivals Man City pip them to their first-ever crown 12 months earlier, Fergie was clearly determined to wrestle the trophy back to Old Trafford and did exactly that with an 89-point haul.

Robin van Persie netted 26 times for the Red Devils in what is still their most recent Premier League title win.

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Sir Alex Ferguson's last-ever season at Man United ended in title gloryCredit: Getty

Having won the treble in 1999 and the Premier League/Club World Cup double in 2000, surely the Red Devils would start to falter?

Apparently not.

Despite fierce competition from Arsenal, Liverpool and Leeds United, Man United were still head and shoulders above their rivals and won the title with five games to spare.

Even with losing their final three matches of the season, they still beat their closest competitor by a cool 10 points in another dominant campaign.

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The Red Devils were utterly dominant in the early 2000sCredit: Getty

After finishing third in Pep Guardiola's first campaign in charge, the second season was always where the Barcelona legend was going to be properly judged.

Man City held top spot in the Premier League from week 5 of the season and dominated as new signings Ederson, Kyle Walker, Aymeric Laporte, Danilo and Bernardo Silva took them to the next level.

In their final match away at Southampton, Gabriel Jesus earned City a 1-0 win that took them to 100 points and 106 goals in a season that earned them records such as most points (100), most away points (50), most points ahead of second (19), most wins (32), most away wins (16), most goals (106), best goal difference (+79) and most consecutive victories (18). Dominant.

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Man City won their first title under Guardiola in emphatic styleCredit: Getty

Head and shoulders above their rivals, Liverpool's title glory in 2020 was done in style.

Their first league title in 30 years, the Reds finished 18 points ahead of Man City as they celebrated in an empty Anfield due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Finishing the season on 99 points, the one disappointment is that they couldn't surpass City's record points tally of 100 which they achieved two years earlier.

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Liverpool ended their 30-year wait for the title during the COVID-19 pandemicCredit: Getty

When the PL title has been decided

Man City (23/24) – Final day

Man City (22/23) – One game left

Man City (21/22) – Final day

Man City (20/21) – Three games left

Liverpool (2019/20) – Seven games left

Man City (18/19) – Final day

Man City (2017/18) – Five games left

Chelsea (2016/17) – Two games left

Leicester (2015/16) – Two games left

Chelsea (2014/15) – Three games left